MLK Quote of the Week: Good and Evil in All of Us

11/20/2012

Quote: There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us.When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reflection: Bishop Dale C. Bronner said something at service one day that really got me to thinking when he said “You don’t see things as they are, you see things as you are”. People seem to judge others not based on the real person, but on your own prejudices. Since perception is reality to most people, we often misjudge based on misconceived generalizations. No one is perfect, no one is all Good or Bad, but rather all of us are the product of the obstacles in our life that shaped who we are; be it tradition, generational curses, and the other factors that molded the people we become may it be right or wrong. We all make mistakes and act “badly”, but should these acts brand someone indefinitely? Even the most respected people with the best intentions fall short and conversely those who you least expect to have any decency will show an act of compassion. To understand this is to have better tolerance for people and not let hate overcome us. We shouldn’t hold people to standards you don’t even hold yourself to because to be human is to have imperfection and everyone is human. You can’t start to see people as they really are or who they have the potential to be until you start to break through your own barriers and rise above them to see a clearer view of people and the world. Next time you critic a person, good or bad, stop to think are you really judging them or are you really looking at the reflection of yourself?